Manitoba's capital is officially set to explore a new emergency service designed to respond to… mental health crises.
The city's executive policy committee on Tuesday approved Mayor Scott Gillingham's proposal to have his office work with a consulting firm to outline how the proposed Winnipeg Community Response Service could work with community partners, public health support services and the city's emergency services.
The mayor said $228,000 to fund the proposal would come from his office.
He supports the creation of a dedicated service to respond to health calls and dispatch trained, trauma-informed professionals, allowing police to focus on violent and property crimes.
“If someone calls 911 because of a mental health crisis, they don't need a badge with a gun or a trained firefighter. They need a mental health worker who understands their needs,” he said.
Welfare checks remain a core requirement for serving on the city's police force for the fifth year in a row. Winnipeg police statistics show dispatchers responded to more than 21,000 calls related to mental health issues last year.
The city currently has several mental health and crisis response services, including a mobile crisis service and a partnership between police and mental health providers to work together to respond to low-risk situations.
But earlier Tuesday the committee heard from the delegation that changes were needed.
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Support worker Caitlin Holocris told the committee she often wonders whether one of her clients would be alive today if she had received the mental health services she needed.
Holocris works with adults living with addictions, mental illness and disabilities.
In 2022, she had to call 911 for help after her client, who suffered from chronic suicidal ideation and other mental health issues, self-harmed. Holocrat was told that a police officer was needed because her client could pose a threat.
Later that year, her client, while alone, experienced another mental health crisis and tried to get help, but it was too late. The woman committed suicide.
“She did everything she had to do, but no one could help her,” Holokrat said.
She told the committee that any wellness visiting services should be community-based and civilian-led. “When police become involved in a crisis response by default, it often results in negative consequences for people in crisis,” she said.
Some medical examinations have resulted in fatal shootings. In 2019, 43-year-old Machuar Madut was shot and killed by a police officer who responded to a call. Madut was reported to have struggled with mental health issues which led to his death.
Afolabi Stephen Opaso, 19, was fatally shot by police in 2023 after officers were called to an apartment building for a welfare check.
“We need this mandatory service rolled out as soon as possible,” said Kate Koehler, executive director of the Winnipeg Community Planning Council. “There is no reason to expect that we will not lose someone else to a preventable death in the meantime.”
The union representing firefighters opposed the creation of a fourth emergency service, saying existing emergency services are in a “documented state of crisis” and that the city should instead increase funding for current services.
“Prioritize stabilizing the existing service,” Nick Kasper, president of the Winnipeg United Firefighters, IAFF Local 867, told the committee.
Kasper said if a new emergency service were created, it would not change the number of calls that fire and paramedic crews respond to, as they must be prepared for any calls that involve higher-level medical needs.
Gillingham disagrees, saying, “Bringing more members, be it firefighters, paramedics, police officers, into the same system without changing it will only lead to more of the same high call volumes.”
Other Canadian cities, such as Toronto, have created their own services that dispatch mental health workers and paramedics to calls that do not pose a safety risk.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
